


Forever and Always

by Metariolu



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24417421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metariolu/pseuds/Metariolu
Relationships: Alastor/Valentino (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 50





	1. Valentino's Grief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HuntingPeople](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuntingPeople/gifts).



Everything changed that day. And everyone knew why. During the last extermination, the angels finally managed to kill one of the most dangerous demons in hell, and Valentino still didn’t want to believe it. One minute, he was reading in his living room with the radio on in the background, the next he nearly hit the ceiling with how high he jumped. What was once quiet jazz music pouring from the radio was now a torrent of distorted screams and static. The moment he managed to get his heartbeat under control, he picked up his phone and immediately tried to call him. His blood ran cold when his husband didn’t pick up. After calling 27 times in a row, he couldn’t take it anymore. The extermination only lasted one more hour and most of the angels were leaving anyway. He took off his coat, grabbed a gun, and threw open the door to his balcony. He rarely ever flew, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t. Besides, a car would be too slow, and he didn’t have time for any of these idiots.

When he finally got to the hotel, it was a mess to say the least. The area around it was wrecked. Glass broken, blood painting the street, feathers and masks lay forgotten with the angels nowhere to be found. The hotel managed to avoid most of the damage, but there was a giant hole punched in the side of it that seemed to be barricaded by furniture. He knocked on the door, fully prepared to kick it down, when Angel Dust opened the door and pulled him inside. Once he was in, he saw the worried look on Niffty’s face and Angel’s sad expression. He rushed up the stairs and saw Husk pacing in front of a room. He didn’t even stop to ask what happened or why he was in the hallway, he just reached for the door and nearly tore it off its hinges. There he saw Vaggie trying her best to comfort a crying Charlie. Both were standing over Alastor who looked to be sleeping. By the time they noticed he was there, he was standing by the bed, his hand gently brushing Alastor’s face long after he ran cold. “He’s,” he whispered trying not to break down, “not waking up, is he?” If he could have torn his eyes away from his husband, he would have seen the pain and sadness in the princess’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

Everything after that was a blur for him. Husk cursing Alastor for dyeing on him, yelling through tears. Angel trying to comfort him the best he could. Vox coming around to help get Alastor home, not saying a word when Val finally broke on the ride home. Velvet calling in and promising to make sure that the death stayed off the Undernet. And locking himself away in his penthouse and spent a few more hours hoping, praying, that Alastor would wake up and tell him it was one of his bad jokes. But, he never did. He laid still, an air of peace around him that only happened when he was asleep, but Val knew it was only a matter of time before he rotted away forever. He couldn’t let that happen. As his mind drifted back to that one early morning, he went to the kitchen and got the sharpest knife he could find. “Don’t worry, Bambi,” he whispered, “I didn’t forget about the deal. We’ll be together forever, just like we promised.”

That was days ago. Now he laid on the couch in his penthouse alone. A ring that hung from a golden chain was the only piece of his husband that he risked keeping on him at all times. As a hand came up to cover the small trinket, his stomach growled. He had gone without food for a while. Not because he didn’t have any, but because of the last meal waiting for him. In the fridge, there was one bowl of jambalaya, the last bit of Alastor he could see. He knew he was going to have to eat sooner or later, but he didn’t want to bring himself to do it. As strange as it was, that one bowl of food was the only physical piece of his husband left. The only piece he could see without pictures, and to hold without feeling completely empty. But, his stomach gnawed at him and he pushed himself to stand. He didn’t want to, but he had no choice. When the meal was finally warmed, he held back his tears and told himself, “Stop it. It’s not like he’s gone completely. He’ll be a part of us, so stop being a baby and eat.” It was easier said than done, and by the time he did finish the last bite was as cold as ice. After that, he went straight to bed. He didn’t care that it was the middle of the day or if people were calling him about yet another fucked up deal, he didn’t want to deal with the mess now that there was no-one to help him through it.

He slept for maybe a few hours before he started feeling strange. While his bed was warm from his body heat, his face was cold. His left cheek, to be exact. And the cold spot was more like a cluster. In the shape of a hand? He opened his eyes to see glowing purple ones staring back at him. He quickly turned on the light and stared in disbelief. He knew that silhouette, those antlers, that grin. “Alastor?” he whispered as he hoped that he wasn’t still dreaming. The shadow nodded and a voice rang inside his head, “It’s been a while, dear.” He almost flinched when the shadow brushed away tears that he didn’t know he was crying, “I’m sorry I couldn’t appear sooner. I didn’t have the energy for it.” “What?” was all he could manage to say. Alastor chuckled, “Keeping a solid for is a bit harder than it looks without a physical body. I have to take a bit of energy from you just to be like this for a few minutes. I hope that’s okay.” He snapped out of it and held his hand, “Al, if energy is what you need, then take as much as you want. If it means I get to see you again, then drain me if you have to.” Alastor smiled, “You know I can’t do that, but I’ll be here whenever you need me.” He kissed Val on the forehead before glaring at him, “But one things for sure, if I see you trying to starve yourself again, so help me I will make you eat EVERY once of food in that kitchen.” Val scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, “No problem, babe. Won’t happen again.” He gently tugged towards the bed, “Stay with me tonight?” Al chuckled as he crawled under the covers, “I can’t imagine I’ll be very warm, but I wouldn’t mind cuddling with you again.” As they laid there under the covers, Val couldn’t hide the grin on his face. Al may have been a shadow now and may not be around as often as he wanted him to be, but he was there. He could see and hold him again. He could still show him how much he loved him and leave with him if someone managed to kill him. That was all he could ask for and more. As they drifted away to sleep, Val knew everything would be fine now. 


	2. Alastor's Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't break one heart and not break the other~

Everything slowed to a crawl around him. In a dark alley stood the infamous Radio Demon, his antlers fully extended and covered head to hoof in blood and gore. His radio dialed eyes twitched from channel to channel as he panted, trying to catch a breath he never lost. Among the sea of low level demons that his shadows were still tearing apart laid Valentino. His wonderful, powerful, loving giant of a husband riddled with bullets and stained in his own blood. He sank to his knees beside him. This was supposed to be a quiet evening. Just another little date where they walked through the city without a care in the world. They weren’t supposed to be tailed by some wannabe gangster. He wasn’t supposed to make it into a game when he noticed. He wasn’t supposed to chase them into the alley for sport. And Valentino wasn’t supposed to shield him from the barrage. He flicked away a nearby bullet. He recognized these shots. Normal little bullets turned to devastating weapons after being soaked in holy water. And Val had taken every shot of it.

When the shadows finally had their fill and faded away, only Alastor’s shadow remained. It looked as devastated as he felt, blue tears streaming down its face as it shook Val, silently begging him to get up. He knew he wouldn’t. Barely anyone got up after five of these shots, let alone the few dozen clips that he had to endure. He knew as well as his shadow, but only his outer self was strong enough to admit it. All he could do was snap his fingers and teleport them home, the guns and stains being the only remaining evidence of the slaughter.

They landed in the bathroom of the penthouse and he set to work. His shadow filled the tub while he stripped him, admiring every inch of his body. He took note of every scratch and bruise his husband had collected over the years, and he could recognize every one as a mark he’d given him. All of them were reminders of the nights they shared together and proof that Alastor would be the only being in Hell to ever have the honor of marking him. He fought back tears as he gently lowered him into the water and washed away the blood and grim that stuck to him. He carefully extracted every bullet so that he wouldn’t make the wound worse. Even though it would never heal, he still needed to preserve as much as he could for what happened next. After draining the water, he teleported them again. They landed in a butcher room hidden far beneath the radio tower. The shadows had completely cleaned the equipment of blood from the other victims so that nothing could mix and taint Val’s. As he laid him on the table, something handed him the knife. The weight of it in his hand would normally fill him with a sadistic pleasure, but now it felt heavy since he knew who he was cutting up. He looked at Valentino’s face. Even though his death was far from it, he looked at peace here. He knew that if he were alive he would be sitting there with that dopey smile of his, glad that his promise would be honored even if that meant the love of his afterlife would be eating him for the next few weeks. His grip tightened on the knife. This was what he wanted. The least he could do was make sure he wouldn’t go to waste.

He didn’t care to remember the next few weeks. He had to explain to Charlie why he didn’t show up at the hotel for a few days, tell Vox what happened to his best friend, try his best to learn how to keep Val’s business running since he worked so hard on it, and clean up the penthouse to keep it in top shape. When Al did go back to work, everyone knew that the loss hurt him more than he let on. His smile never reached his eyes, his step lost that usual energy, and he rarely ever talked outside of the usual questions and comments made to the hotel guests. Everyone knew that Alastor was taking the loss hard, but only Husk saw the full break. It was late at the hotel. Everyone else had gone to bed, leaving Husk and Al sitting at the bar alone. He didn’t know how many drinks he poured already, but he knew it was much more than he ever saw the deer drink. He put his bottle down, “Al, you hadn’t said a word in over an hour. You good?” Al sat motionless for a few seconds before he began to shake. His head lowered, ears flattening against his skull, as he muttered “No.” in a broken tone. Husk sobered up quickly when he saw the tears streaming down his face, no smile to be found as he managed to sob one more sentence, “I miss him.” After that day, no one questioned him when he needed to take some time off again.

During that time, he had managed to cook up enough food to feed an army twice over. He cooked every meal he could remember from life and even made some Chicago style dinners to fit Val’s origin. He made sure to use every part of him. Any part that wasn’t a “quality cut”, which wasn’t many because no part of him was low quality at all, was used to make broth and then eaten when that broth was finished. He savored every bite, cleaned every plate, and made sure that nothing was left behind. By the time he managed to eat everything, he was debating on whether or not to just stand outside during the next extermination. He never thought he’d see the day where he might crave permanent death, but here he was, laying on their once shared bed thinking about whether or not to end it all. That was, until he felt his shadow nearly drag him out of bed. He shot the shadow a very pointed glare, “Can I help you?” The shadow didn’t seem to care about his master’s glare and kept tugging, sending images of the radio tower and a dire sense of urgency. He sighed and reluctantly pulled himself away from the bed, “I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but if this is a waste of time so help me you will suffer for it.” His threat once again fell on deft ears as his shadow pulled him through to the tower.

The moment he got there, something felt different. There was obviously no one there, yet there was a strange presence nearby. Familiar, but different. His body moved on its own as he tried to track what was in his radio tower. He checked every room he passed and kept an ear out for any odd sounds that might echo through the hallways. He kept going until he reached the roof. He hesitated on opening the door, but everything in his body screamed at him to reach that presence on the other side. He took a deep breath and opened the door, only to have it stolen away at the sight. Standing near the railing was a large, blue tinted shadow with four arms, long legs, and a pair of mismatched antennae. When it turned, it had those same blood red eyes he fell in love with. “Valentino?” he whispered as he walked forward, “Is that really you?” The shadow looked as though he was on the verge of tears too. He knew Val wanted to say something, to hold him like he used to, but his form seemed to waiver. He wasn’t used to being a shadow yet, and it was clearly messing with him. Alastor’s shadow came forward and put a hand on Val’s cheek when Al couldn’t, “Darling, it’s okay. You’ll get the hang of it soon.” Al could see that Val was still troubled but immediately perked up a few seconds later. Alastor couldn’t hold his tears anymore when Val said “ _ I love you. _ ” in ASL, knowing just how hard the pimp had tried to learn it whenever he lost his voice. Alastor’s grin had never been brighter, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sad time over. Hope you guys enjoyed it! \\(^0^)/

**Author's Note:**

> Been sitting on this idea every since Chapter 51 in HuntingPeople's story. Hopefully I can do it some justice. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if I need to change anything. Have a good day!


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